TEAHUPOO, Taiarapu/Tahiti (Wednesday, September 1, 2010) – The idyllic conditions of the past two days were washed away this morning under heavy south wind and rain, forcing the Billabong Pro Tahiti to call competition off after completing the remaining four heats of Round 3.

Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Tahiti is both a pivotal point in the hunt for the 2010 ASP World Title as well as the midyear field reduction; the latter of which was completed today.

Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 24, 2010 ASP Dream Tour rookie, punctuated the morning’s action, executing an incredible Rodeo Flip in the dying moments of his Round 3 heat to overtake Chris Davidson (AUS), 33, and advance through to Round 4.

“It was really tough out there,” Gudauskas said. “There weren’t a lot of waves coming through and I didn’t know if I should wait for the good ones or if there were even any good ones left. I knew I needed to go big at the end there so I thought, ‘whatever, I’ll just try this’. It had a really nice section and when I came out of the rotation, I knew I had it so I just kind of rode out and gave the judges a little thumbs up.”

The Califonian’s advancement to Round 4 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti guarantees an Equal 9^th, a career best, and rockets him from No. 32 to No. 24 on the ASP World Title Race rankings.

“My mind is still here for the moment,” Gudauskas said. “But it’s been my dream of mine since I can remember to surf at this level at home and at Pipe, and I’m over the moon. First and foremost though, focus remains here.”

Mick Fanning (AUS), 29, reigning ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 6, has been in impressive form all season, but has yet to recapture the dominance shown late last season. The Australian remains calm when discussing his ASP World Title defence, citing last year as an example.

“It’s still early days,” Fanning said. “I’m holding a couple throwaways already this season so I need to start looking at putting in results. It’s not all that different to last season really. Anyone can get on a roll at any time and put a few events away. I just need to stay focused on each heat and surf my best.”

Andy Irons (HAW), 32, past three-time ASP World Champion and former winner at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, survived a hard-fought heat with high-flying rookie Matt Wilkinson (AUS), 21, in deteriorating conditions this morning.

“I just tried to catch a lot of waves,” Irons said. “It was real stormy. So I just tried to catch a bunch of waves and stay busy. That kid (Wilkinson) is really wild, he can throw big airs and I knew he could blow the heat wide open with one wave. It was a close one.”

Damien Hobgood (USA), 31, current ASP World No. 13, finalized the ASP midyear cut-off today, eliminating rookie Marco Polo (BRA), 29, in a tightly-fought Round 3 heat.

“It was really close,” Hobgood said. “Marco (Polo) beat Bobby (Martinez) here the other day – anyone can beat anyone out there. I was hoping for more barrels so it would favour me, but it’s just really small. I’m lucky to get through out there. I knew it could potentially be like this. I hope we get some fun waves in the last few days.”

With the elimination of Polo, the ASP’s midyear field reduction is complete. The following 13 surfers have been relegated back to the ASP PRIME and Star events:

- Drew Courtney (AUS), 31
- Neco Padaratz (BRA), 34
- Tanner Gudauskas (USA), 22
- Mick Campbell (AUS), 34
- Kieren Perrow (AUS), 33
- Tom Whitaker (AUS), 30
- Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), 25
- Blake Thornton (AUS), 25
- Dean Morrison (AUS), 29
- Jay Thompson (AUS), 28
- Nate Yeomans (USA), 29
- Ben Dunn (AUS), 24

- Marco Polo (BRA), 29

Moving forward, the ASP World Title events will have 36-man fields comprised of the ASP Top 34 (Top 32 finishers after five events plus two surfer wildcards) and two event wildcards.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow at 6am to assess conditions for a possible 6:30am start.

When competition resumes, up first will be Dane Reynolds (USA), 24, against C.J. Hobgood (USA), 31, in the opening heat of Round 4.

Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, are calling for a small mix of south and southwest swell will prevail for the last days of the waiting period along with moderate to strong easterly trades.

Highlights from the Billabong Pro Tahiti will be available via http://www.billabongpro.com/tahiti10/

FUEL TV will be broadcasting the Billabong Pro Tahiti LIVE in Australia. Check out http://www.foxsports.com.au/fueltv for details.

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI REMAINING ROUND 3 RESULTS:

Heat 13: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.50 def. Tamaroa McComb (PYF) 6.83

Heat 14: Andy Irons (HAW) 9.34 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 9.16

Heat 15: Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.77 def. Marco Polo (BRA) 8.74

Heat 16: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 13.43 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 13.16

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:

Heat 1: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)

Heat 2: Tiago Pires (PRT) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

Heat 3: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)

Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Manoa Drollet (PYF)

Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)

Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)

Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)

Heat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)

For SB event please bring your lawn chairs and blankets and come early to secure a spot!

Left to right:

1. 6′5″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
2. 6′3″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
3. 6′1″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
4. 6′0″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
5. 6′0″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
6. 5′11″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 5/16″ Semi Pro Round Pin
7. 5′11″ x 18 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ Deep Six Round Pin

Left to right:

1. 6′8″ x 18 5/8″ x 2 3/8″ Proton Step Up
2. 6′5″ x 18 1/2″ x 2 3/8″ Proton Step Up Round Pin tail
3. 6′3″ x 18 1/2″ x 2 5/16″ Proton Step Up Round Pin tail
4. 6′2″ x 18 5/8″ x 2 3/8″ MBM 6 Channel Tri hull tail
5. 6′1″ x 18 5/8″ x 2 5/16″ Rookie Round Pin tail

1. 6′8″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 3/16″ Proton Step Up Round Pin
2. 6′6″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 1/4″ Proton Step Up Round Pin
3. 6′4″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 3/16″ Proton Step Up Round Pin
4. 6′2″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 3/16″ Proton Step Up
5. 6′1″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 1/4″ MBM 6 Channel Tri Hull Tail
6. 6′0″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 3/16″ Proton Squash

This is Sage’s weapon of choice, Kelly’s Whip model: 5-9 181/4 21/4 swallow tail with future fins

It came down to the wire. After finishing runner up to Malia Manuel last year, a win this year was extra special.

Photos by Peter Dive

Evan Geiselman won the 2010 US Open Jr. Pro title on a 5’11 x 18 ¼” x 2 1/8″ Rookie. He bought the board off the rack at Red Dog surf shop in his home town of New Smyrna Beach Fl. This makes all of us at Channel Islands super stoked to know that someone of Evan’s caliber can buy a board off the rack and get the same high-quality board we are making for our team. Congrats Evan on your win.

TEAHUPOO, Taiarapu/Tahiti (Monday, August 23, 2010) – The Billabong Pro Tahiti, Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, has been called off for the day, with only small, inconsistent surf available at the main site of Teahupoo.

With careers on the line in Tahiti, the result of the ASP midyear field reduction from the Top 45 to the Top 34 (Top 32 finishers plus two wildcards), this year’s Billabong Pro Tahiti boasts unprecedented importance for the world’s best surfers.

“We monitored conditions for a good while this morning and deemed it not contestable,” Richie Porta, ASP International Head Judge, said. “It was very small and just too inconsistent to run. We’re working with everyone, the surfers, the organizers, the forecasters to ensure that the athletes have the best possible conditions.”

Surfline, official forecasters for the Billabong Pro Tahiti, are calling for a slow start to the contest waiting period with a very modest mix of southwest swells providing contestable, but small scale, surf today and tomorrow.

A full breakdown of ASP World Title Rankings possibilities, including the ASP midyear field reduction, for the Billabong Pro Tahiti are available at ASPWorldTour.com

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7am to assess conditions for a possible 8am start.

When competition commences, up first will be Damien Hobgood (USA), 31, Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), 25, and Jay Thompson (AUS), 28, in the opening heat of the Billabong Pro Tahiti.

The Billabong Pro Tahiti will be webcast LIVE via http://www.billabongpro.com/tahiti10/

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS

Heat 1: Damien Hobgood (USA), Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), Jay Thompson (AUS)

Heat 2: Jadson Andre (BRA), Luke Stedman (AUS), Nate Yeomans (USA)

Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Marco Polo (BRA)

Heat 4: Dane Reynolds (USA), Tom Whitaker (AUS), Blake Thornton (AUS)

Heat 5: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Roy Powers (HAW), Tim Reyes (USA)

Heat 6: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Joan Duru (FRA)

Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS), Adam Melling (AUS), Tamaroa McComb (PYF)

Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Manoa Drollet (PYF)

Heat 9: Taj Burrow (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT), Tuamata Puhetini (PYF)

Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA), Andy Irons (HAW), Heiarii Williams (PYF)

Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW), Drew Courtney (AUS)

Heat 12: Owen Wright (AUS), Brett Simpson (USA), Neco Padaratz (BRA)

Heat 13: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Tanner Gudauskas (USA)

Heat 14: Michel Bourez (PYF), Dean Morrison (AUS), Mick Campbell (AUS)

Heat 15: Taylor Knox (USA), Luke Munro (AUS), Travis Logie (ZAF)

Heat 16: Chris Davidson (AUS), Patrick Gudauskas (USA), Ben Dunn (AUS)

Check out the full story on Surfline.com